Jeb Bush: Immigration fix ‘overdue’

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday called for speedy and far-reaching action on immigration reform in an op-ed in Friday’s Wall Street Journal.

“The sudden ferment on this issue, which was largely dormant since efforts at comprehensive reform were torpedoed five years ago, is as welcome as it is overdue,” wrote Bush, who co-authored the piece and is often mentioned as a possible 2016 Republican presidential contender. “The growing consensus on both sides of the political aisle that something needs to be done should not be squandered, for such opportunities are rare and fleeting.”

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Bush, who wrote the article with Clint Bolick of the Goldwater Institute, slammed policies promoting a “piecemeal” approach to the immigration question, and dismissed arguments — put forth by some in his own party — that comprehensive immigration reform would lead to amnesty.

“Some policymakers are calling for piecemeal changes” like offering visas for high-skilled workers or legal status for people who came to America illegally as children, Bush and Bolick wrote. “Congress should avoid such quick fixes and commit itself instead to comprehensive immigration reform.

“In some conservative circles, the word “comprehensive” in the context of immigration reform is an epithet — a code word for amnesty,” the piece continued. “People who oppose such reform declare that securing the United States border must come before moving toward broader reform. Such an approach is shortsighted and self-defeating.”

Instead, they wrote, the country should aim to “make sure that we have a fair and workable system of legal immigration. The current immigration system is neither.”

The op-ed went on to outline several sometimes-harsh “realities,” including that “there is no ‘line.’”

“Critics of comprehensive reform often argue that illegal immigrants should return to their native countries and wait in line like everyone else who wants to come to America,” they wrote. “But unless they have relatives in the U.S. or can fit within the limited number of work-based visas, no line exists for such individuals.”

In a nod to some conservatives, the pair also argued that “amnesty promotes illegal immigration,” though they also noted that “we must recognize that children who were brought here illegally have committed no crime and in most instances know no other country.”